Former castmate Andrea Martin has a new series coming in March to Global

When it comes to the pursuit of a successful TV comedy idea, it appears that Canada is still dependent upon the legacy of SCTV, which ended its run as a regular series 30 years ago.

The latest announcement is for a CBC sitcom called Schitt’s Creek, which will star Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara, along with Get a Life and Cabin Boy legend Chris Elliott — plus Eugene’s son Dan Levy, who is best known for providing discourse about the pseudo-reality show The Hills on MTV Canada.

When video store billionaire Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy), his soap star wife Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and their two kids, über hipster son David (Dan Levy) and socialite daughter Alexis suddenly find themselves broke, they are forced to leave their pampered lives to regroup and rebuild their empire from within the rural city limits of their only remaining asset — Schitt’s Creek, an arm pit of a town they once bought as a joke.

Schitt’s Creek promotional photo

Schitt’s Creek will begin production in Ontario this spring, presumably in time to appear on the 2014-15 lineup on CBC Television, which is overdue for a refresh after offering few new shows for the current season, which has resulted in cratering ratings in the 25-54 demographic.

Levy and O’Hara appeared together on SCTV for much of its run between 1976 and 1984 — although she was absent during the 1980-81 season, partly due what turned out to be a non-starter role in the cast of Saturday Night Live.

More recently, the duo appeared as the folk singing duo Mitch & Mickey in the 2003 Christopher Guest mockumentary A Mighty Wind.

SCTV veteran Andrea Martin will also star in a forthcoming sitcom, Working the Engels, which will air on both Global in Canada and NBC in the U.S. — the first cross-border partnership of its kind for a half-hour comedy.

Working the Engels announced its Canadian premiere date of March 12 on Monday, along with the fact that its episodes feature a guest appearance from Levy along with another SCTV alum, Martin Short.